Tour-Mentone Vol. I - Hit Mania True-Compilation of Steel

Nanowar of Steel offers another highly entertaining EP that makes fun of bands such as Pantera, Marilyn Manson and of course Manowar. Aside from the humoristic lyrics, the band actually plays really decent music and delivers the goods in diversified subgenres such as thrash metal, groove metal and classic heavy metal. The band's absurd creativity never fails to amuse me and never gets tiring. This already starts with the hilarious cover artwork parodying the Grand Theft Auto series.

One of my personal highlights on this short but nice EP consisting of six tunes plus an introduction is the mean thrash metal track ''Pollocausto (Vallespluga Of Death)'' where evil terror birds from hell turn out being chickens. Musically, the song sounds like a mixture of classic Anthrax and Slayer sounds and opens this diversified record with a bang. ''Tutte Cagne'' makes fun of Pantera's aggressive bully groove metal style and recalls the band's pissed redneck anthem ''Walk''. The epic ''V per Viennetta'' recalls one of Manowar's cheesy ballads and offers a nice change of pace and style on the record. The melodic vocals, elegant piano sounds and campfire acoustic guitars create a comforting and warm atmosphere and the expressive Italian lyrics only add to this.

In the end, '' Tour-Mentone Vol. I'' picks the listener up right where the band left us with the brilliant studio effort ''A Knight at the Opera'' two years earlier. This entertaining fun ride for a fair price leaves the listener wanting for more. Since this release is subtitled as volume number one, we might already look forward to a follow-up in the future. This is a nice record for joyful metal parties with some friends. The only inconvenience is that I don't understand most of the Italian lyrics which would probably make this release even more enjoyable.